India continues to record the highest number of leprosy cases in the world, followed by Brazil and Indonesia.
There were a total number of 1,27,295 reported cases across the country in 2011-12, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases at 24,627, followed by 17,892 in Maharashtra and 17,801 in Bihar, Minister of State in the Ministry Sudip Bandyopadhyay told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Tuesday.
He said the Government was now focusing on eliminating the disease at the district-level by taking measures like early detection, treatment etc.
According to the World Health Organisation, till last year, India accounted for 54 per cent of all new leprosy cases reported in the world.
There is a lot of stigma attached to the debilitating disease, which affects the nerve endings, leading to numbness, ulcers and infections that gradually eat into fingers, toes etc.